Deductive Reasoning
by Juicy Lizard
Summary: Deductive Reasoning: The act of using known truths to arrive at a logical conclusion. Such is the job of Misaki Yuki, a self-proclaimed detective working on getting a Hero License. Without any apparent Quirk, she challenges those who attempt to obscure the truth with only her little gray cells.
1. Prologue: Mysterious Affairs of Misaki

"_If left alone, Misaki Yuki will cause mischief."_

This fact had become well-known by the entirety of Yudaitaka High School in the two months since she transferred in.

Despite being near the end of the school year, her arrival was not treated as anything peculiar. After all, Yudaitaka boasts the title of the easiest hero course in the country. We're chock-full of wannabe heroes who failed to get into a decent school. Naturally, we also pick up any stragglers that end up dropping out of any potential better school. In fact, we had a dozen drop-outs from U.A. at the beginning of the year. It was pretty hectic back then.

Anyway, we all just thought this girl was some big shot that ran into trouble with U.A., Tsubasa, or some other big school. That, coupled with the fact that she's sort of cute, in some roundabout fashion, made her appearance quite the buzz. Our classroom was swarming with students from other classes, trying to either find out where she was from or inviting her to join their club.

If she had just spoken up sooner, everyone would have figured out what a weirdo she is and just left us alone. Unfortunately, that atmosphere continued for a few days before dying down.

Once everybody's eyes were off her, she disappeared. She left during lunch break and ditched the rest of the day. Some people thought she may have gotten sick and went to the infirmary, but we found out the next day what she was up to.

To backtrack a little, Misaki went to visit most of the clubs in their assertive attempts at recruiting her. While there, she ended up hearing a story from earlier this year.

I don't actually remember the girl's name, so let us just refer to her as 'Girl X.' I am sure she would prefer that for the sake of privacy, as well.

Girl X was a member of the art club and went missing four years ago.

That was the whole story. Misaki heard that, and exactly that. The only other thing about Girl X she knew about was an unfinished painting of hers hanging up in the art club. It was what she was working on at the time before her disappearance. Nobody had wanted to be the one to throw away a presumably dead girl's last painting. Personally, I am surprised it didn't end up with her family, but it's not like I know the details.

Back on topic, Misaki disappears during lunch break and never comes back to class that day. That would normally be a tale of a delinquent skipping class to go hang out in some shady alley or something. Well, she came back the next day, and let me tell you, she was pissed.

Nobody dared to talk to her, but it was evident from her facial expressions and body language alone that she fuming. Before now, she had only ever looked at us with her regular listless look, so this was an entirely new side to this mysterious transfer student.

During lunch, once she calmed down just a tiny bit, a couple of girls worked up the courage to invite her to eat with them. Confronted with fear itself, one of them then managed to show the bravery being a hero necessitates and asked her what was wrong.

Me, who happened to sit right next to Misaki, heard the whole thing.

"Even until the very end, he didn't admit it," is what she said, more or less. She ranted on and on, only vaguely detailing the situation. The only clear details I heard were of her confronting someone, and the school reprimanding her for it. The two girls sat there with her looking dumbfounded, as Misaki spouted for the remainder of the lunch break. All three of them ended up not touching their lunch that day.

However, just before lunch break ended, one fool ended up asking her what the hell she was talking about.

"Sorry for eavesdropping, but seriously, what are you talking about?"

The girls she was sitting across from seemed ever so grateful that I butted in. It was my first time talking to Misaki, and while I would have loved to have continued to have nothing to do with her, my curiosity was far too piqued by what she had said.

Looking at me with disdain, she replied.

"Huh? Didn't you hear earlier? Teacher Y killed Girl X."

Coincidentally, that same morning came with the announcement that the teacher in charge of the art club (whose name I have since forgotten) would be retiring, and the art club would temporarily suspend activities.

Pardon my poor narration, but the story is more fun this way.

The entire class, now revealed to be eavesdropping along with me, went quiet at this. Naturally, nobody believed her at first. Our next class ended up starting a minute after she said that, so nobody had time to further question her about it.

By the time that class had ended, everybody had either forgotten about it, or deemed Misaki a loon. We all went home pretending to have never heard anything, confident that Misaki was in need of a psychiatrist.

Well, the next morning, it was all over the news that one former Yudaitaka teacher was under arrest for the abduction and murder of Girl X.

I never heard the complete story from Misaki, so all I know are rumors going around class.

But please, let me present the hypothetical timeline of what went down.

Of course, Misaki first learns about Girl X from the art club. Intrigued by it, she ends up looking up who she was online.

A few days later, once she is no longer being bombarded by her peers, Misaki sneaks around the school looking for _something._ If this were a recent crime, there would probably be evidence left behind if anything happened at the school.

_But this was four years ago. _

Even if there was some critical piece of evidence at the school when she went missing, it would have been long gone.

But Misaki found something. I have no idea how she linked Girl X and Teacher Y together in a crime, but she did.

I tried to ask her what she found, but she refused to answer. She said she had no reason to linger on such a boring case. Personally, I think she just said that because she knew I was curious.

Anyway, with Evidence Z in hand, she did the responsible thing and handed it over the police, right?

Of course not.

Suspecting this man was a dangerous criminal, she chose to be completely rational about it and confronted him alone at his house.

Now, if Misaki had some sort of physical Quirk, this would not be too bad. There are lots of kids—adults too, even—that like to take justice into their own hands. Those people have Quirks to back them up.

Misaki doesn't.

While she claims her Quirk to be called Deductive Reasoning, she is almost definitely Quirkless. Atleast, I have come to believe Misaki is a gifted—albeit weird—genius who happens not have a Quirk.

Of course, I have no proof of this. For all I know, she could have a Quirk called Deductive Reasoning. For one reason or another, though, I just cannot believe her.

Either way, she does not have a Quirk fit for vigilantism. Even during physical education, she is almost always behind the rest of the class. Keep in mind that Yudaitaka is known for having an extremely lenient hero education.

So this tiny girl goes and confronts Teacher Y, accuses him of murder, probably taunts him while she's at it, and eventually the police show up and arrest the guy.

By the way, I heard there was a knife in his pocket when he arrested. He probably picked it up and prepared to use it when Misaki accused him of, you know, killing someone.

I am sure she would have just laughed if he pulled it out on her though.

According to some news articles I read after the fact, a 'daring Yudaitaka student' submitted some crucial evidence to the police that ended up arresting him. Teacher Y was also accused of blackmailing and raping Girl X, but prosecutors were unable to charge him for it.

Anyways, that's the story of how the entire school learned the name Misaki Yuki. A few people praised her for what she did, but most people ended up scared of her once people starting gossiping.

When I asked her why she was so mad that day, she explained it in a way 'that even a nitwit like you could understand.'

"It's no fun if the criminal doesn't confess at the end, you know? Just think about how boring it would be if you got to the end of a 300 page novel and the accused denied doing it until the bitter end? There's no resolution there! Of course Teacher Y did it! They even ended up finding her body! But if he doesn't say he did it and then plead guilty, it takes all the fun out of it."

That's everything. Misaki has made a few waves around Yudaitaka since, but nothing she has done since has come as close to getting a teacher arrested for killing a student.

Personally, I just hope it stays that way.

* * *

**Thanks for reading, everyone! It goes without saying that I would appreciate some feedback about how you liked this opening chapter. There's probably some typos I missed, but I'll try to clean them when I get the time.**

**I have actually written two MHA fanfiction's before, but both of them were pretty bad for similar reasons. I have since taken them down, since they would otherwise remain a blight on my consciousness.**

**The protagonist of the more recent one had a protagonist very similar to Misaki, but it followed the events of MHA itself.**

**While I tend to dislike fanfiction which is almost entirely OC's, I feel like there is room to grow in this fashion. While this story will not be very action oriented, it will have some tie-ins to the canon events of My Hero Academia (eventually.) Particularly, I would like to tie into the Stain arc, but the exact details are still uncertain.**

**Anyway, I hoped you liked the prologue. I realized what I wanted this chapter to be was similar to Haruhi's opening segment, so sorry if the narrator ended up sounding too much like Kyon. Just for reference, Misaki will be the one narrating the rest of the story.**

**As previously mentioned, I would appreciate any feedback you have for me. I am trying to practice writing with this story, so if you have any problems with my prose, please feel free to point them out.**

**P.S. While I highly doubt anyone will be able to reverse engineer it, bonus points to whoever gets what Yudaitaka is a reference to.**


	2. Chapter I-I: A Study in Sham

After every major test, the combined score of the top ten students is displayed for all of Yudaitaka to see. The bulletin board outside the teacher's office becomes crowded after every test, with aspiring students hoping they made it onto that exclusive list.

Admittedly, that is a bit of an exaggeration. Our school is not the most blessed academically, to put it lightly. While we do have a sizable pool of gifted students with not so gifted Quirks, a majority of my classmates are the brawn over brains sort.

While it is not _required_ to attend a Hero Academy, it is all around easier to become a Pro Hero by attending one. Naturally, that is the only reason anyone would choose to attend this school. Anyone with an IQ higher than a neanderthal's can get in, and then they atleast get a half decent chance at getting a Hero License.

Naturally, that is why I am here. A detective needs the right to display their authority. A Hero License is a convenient tool for me to investigate otherwise forbidden locations. I would prefer not to get charged with breaking and entering.

I would still do it if the case was worth it, but I would _prefer_ not to.

Given being an intellectual is my charm point, it is natural that my name tops the test score list every time since I have been here.

Admittedly, that has only been once, but it still counts.

Today will be the second time I have proven my worth over these peasants. A swarm of my noisy peers are currently blocking the list from view, so I simply stand back and wait for them to disperse.

Once the crowd slightly diminishes, I squeeze past a couple people and get a look at my crowning glory.

_1\. Katagiri Keiichi – 492_

_2\. Misaki Yuki – 489_

My eyes glanced through the eight lowest members of the list before returning back to my name.

Welp, there's always next time. This Katagiri guy got me this time, but maybe next time I will actually try to win. Suppressing my memory of the hours spent studying last week, I walk back to class to eat lunch.

"You're unexpectedly calm. I'm impressed, Misaki." An annoying voice calls out from beside me. Without even looking, I can tell that he's the classmate sitting behind me, Mizuno Shinji.

As much as I would love to give him the cold shoulder, he would probably just pester me about it later if I did. Therefore, I will nip this busybody at the bud.

"What, did you expect me to stomp and kick for not being perfect?" I keep walking as Mizuno follows beside me.

"Kind of, actually," he replied. "Or, at the very least, I expected you to go issue that Kazamatsuri guy a formal request for a duel or something."

"I assume you mean Katagiri?"

"Whatever. Anyway, you doing anything for lunch? If you treat me, I'll make it worth your while."

"Oh? Did a corpse spring up in a locked room? That's just about the only thing I could hear from you to make eating lunch with your worthwhile."

"Keep working on those comebacks. Anyway, it's not a corpse, but it _is_ a closed room mystery. Or atleast, sort of."

Taking out my wallet, I pull out a coin.

"Here's ¥500. Get back here quickly so you can tell me about it."

After giving it to him, he flashes me a grin—a rare thing from him—before running off towards the cafeteria. Hopefully a teacher does not show up to scold him for running indoors.

Taking the opportunity to eat my own lunch, I wait for him in our classroom. Just after I finish eating, he shows back up with two pieces of bread in hand.

As he sits down behind me, I turn my seat around to face him. I notice the obvious glances of our curious classmates, but neither of us give them any mind. Despite the fact this is supposed to be a class for potential future heroes, just about everyone here is only interested in themselves.

Of course, this also applies to both Mizuno and myself. Just about everyone in the heroics department tends to be irritatingly standoffish.

Still, I am not sure if our onlookers are jealous of two people engaging in such an idyllic school lunch, or if they are curious as to what the two of us are up to.

Mizuno tears the wrapper off of a piece of melon bread and takes a bite before talking.

"So, you're curious, right? You want to hear about this totally spectacular closed room, right?"

His teasing tone frustrated me to no end. I would really prefer an informant that isn't such a dork. Not giving into him, I just wait for him to keep going.

"Sheesh, you're no fun. Learn to let loose sometime, Misaki. You'll live longer," He replies. "Fine, fine. Stop looking at me like that. I'll get on with it."

He takes another bite as if to mock me.

"Okay, before I start, this is all second-hand info. I'm sure you can figure out what's true or not once you look into it, which I'm sure you will. To start at the end, one of the copies of our World History test got stolen."

The word 'stolen' bugs me. I am sure it is fairly easy to lose an extra piece of paper, so this implies that someone knows for certain there was theft involved. Or its just gossip being sensationalized.

If I spoke up now, he would probably take another five minutes to start talking again, so I let him continue.

"Apparently, Class 1-F was missing a copy of the test last Thursday. Mr. Mashiro went to go make a copy himself, probably thinking he just forgot one somewhere, but when he went to the teacher's office, the lock to the drawer he kept them in was all busted up."

"So? What's so special about this? When nobody was in the room, some kid walked in, noticed nobody was there, broke the lock, and took a copy to learn all the questions. It's a cut and dry case, isn't it?"

"It's not quite so elementary, my dear Sherlock," he sarcastically retorted. "From what I heard, Mr. Mashiro was the first teacher to show up that morning. After grabbing the stack of tests, he left the teacher's office. Then, of course, as it was empty, he locked the door behind him."

"Surely there's more than a single key to the teacher's office? That's hardly ¥500 worth of information."

"That's not the end. There's a camera at the entrance to the school, you know? After Mr. Mashiro, two teachers showed up together thirty minutes later. Others started showing up after them, but the two of them went straight to the teacher's office and didn't notice anything odd. After that, there was always atleast one teacher in there."

"Mizuno," I say, "how confident are you this information is reliable?"

"Well, I'd say most of it is true. There's probably some misinformation mixed in, and maybe a lie or two, but I'm fairly certain this story is more or less the truth."

"I see… Thank you for the information."

"Pleasure doing business with you." He holds up his other piece of bread slyly.

Just as he tears into it, Mr. Mashiro shows up to begin our next class.

Unfortunately for him, that anpan would be left untouched until after school.

During that period of World History, I spent time thinking about my dear friend, Katagiri Keiichi.

* * *

**And that's Chapter 2, or rather, Chapter I-I. **

**This chapter was the start of the first 'arc' within the story. This is the first half of the introduction to this rather mundane mystery of a stolen test. Shounen's tend to make the stakes higher and higher as they progress, so I'll be borrowing that format by starting with a low intensity mystery. Nobody's life is at stake, and the worst thing that will happen if the culprit isn't found is an inaccurate grade.**

**As mentioned, this is only the first half of the exposition. The mystery is not solvable as presented, so please do not strain your brains trying to force Mizuno, Mashiro, or Katagiri as the culprit. Of course, they may be, but the rest of the necessary information will be provided next chapter. I say this because there was once a case where I read the first couple chapters of a detective novel, mulled it over for a few days, and then it turned out the culprit hadn't even been introduced by that point. It was still a good mystery, but that left a poor taste in my mouth.**

**With that out of the way, I want to complain about the setting. Personally, I hate whenever English stories use honorifics (and especially Japanese words) when not called for. Personally, I would love nothing more than to make this story take place in a setting I'm more familiar with, but unfortunately the canon will not allow me to do that. So, if I mess up on some cultural detail, please feel free to correct me.**

**Also, just for reference, I'm using last names first and then first names. Maybe it is just preference, but certain names, especially canon ones, tend to flow better that way. This means that, for example, Misaki is the last name of the protagonist.**

**With all of that out of the way, thank you for reading. I would appreciate any feedback you have for me. This chapter ended up being very dialogue heavy, but that will lessen as we proceed to the 'crime scene.'**


	3. Chapter I-II: A Study in Sham

After class ended that day, I had Mizuno introduce me to his informant, a girl named Sakurano Akane. She was a sporty girl with a light tan and short hair. I was expecting her to be a bit crass, but she came off as overly formal. She said she got this information from her Quirk, which she refused to reveal, but assured me this was the truth.

Just in case, I had her reiterate the story to me. I would prefer to hear information directly from the source rather than be playing telephone all day long.

There was no apparent contradictions between their two stories. During the day of the World History test, someone entered the teacher's office, broke into Mr. Mashiro's desk, stole a copy of the test, and then presumably used it to cheat.

After meeting Sakurano yesterday, I went straight home to think everything over. The obvious offender is Katagiri. I double-checked my framed photo of the previous test results, and his name was not on the list. This does not prove anything, but it is suspicious to say the least.

The possibility exists that he was, say, the 11th highest scoring student last time, and his name just did not make the list. Maybe he just went all out on studying to impress some girl or something. These possibilities cannot be ignored.

However, the possibility also exists that he stole the test to try to deceive the world into thinking that he is smarter than myself.

Unfortunately, he is the only suspect I have at the moment. Over 200 students took that test, so singling it down is not exactly as simple as solving a crossword.

With the whodunit having progressed as far as I logically possible, I spent the rest of the night thinking about the howdunit.

There are several questions I have.

First off, were there exactly enough tests for all of the students? What if Mr. Mashiro forgot to print one off? This does not explain the drawer's lock being broken, but it is a valid line of questioning.

Second, when was the test stolen? The natural answer is 'sometime in the morning before we took the test.' But is it really that simple?

Admittedly, I never got the time that Mr. Mashiro arrived in the morning. Even Sakurano said that there was about thirty minutes until others started showing up, so let us assume he showed up at 7:30 A.M. Classes start at 8:30, and since clubs were not having practice that week, nobody would have a reason to show up earlier than at 8:00.

With that in mind, the test was presumably stolen after 8:00. All classes started taking the test just after 8:30. That means the culprit had only about thirty minutes to look over the test. It is not like it had an answer sheet, either. It was solely the questions to the test. It would surely provide an advantage, but if one was going to risk their academic career, surely they wouldn't do so for such a meager reward.

With closed room mysteries, it is common for the crime to happen long before everyone actually thinks it did. With that line of thinking, was the test actually stolen long before the test day, and the lock was simply broken to fake the time of theft?

I have no evidence to support that line of reasoning, but it is worth keeping in mind.

And finally, who were the first students to arrive to school that day? Whether or not they actually stole it that morning, they probably prepared themselves an alibi.

When it comes to criminals these days, they like to overthink things. While having a tight alibi is helpful, it becomes even harder to find the culprit when they are hidden in a crowd. I stand no chance at finding whoever did this if they simply came to school right before the bell, so I am just going to act as if they _didn't_ do that.

These are the three most important questions I have. I have the means to figure out the first and third one, but the matter of when the crime happened is currently out of my grasp.

* * *

I made sure to wake up early today. While I usually make a habit of arriving right on time, today I will be recreating the conditions of the crime.

Namely, I will be looking for students who arrived early on the day of the crime. Particularly, I am hoping to catch a student whose Quirk would allow them to bypass appearing on the sole camera the school has.

Now that I think of it, what if somebody used their Quirk remotely to steal the test? As much as I would love to deny it, the possibility is very high. There is no guarantee that is a fair-play mystery, after all.

With that worrisome detail in mind, I eventually make it to school. The sun is already well over the horizon, but the sky remains dark with several clouds in the sky. It doesn't take a meteorologist to realize that it will be raining later today. What fitting weather for a mystery!

Dark clouds relinquish their torrent of rain as Katagiri confesses to cheating. Then, as sunlight peaks through the veil of clouds, the test score results are changed to have my name on top.

While thinking of such a blissful scenario, I eventually make it to the school's front gate. Let the questioning begin!

"Excuse me, what time did you get to school last Friday?"

"Last Friday? That was the last exam day, right? Probably around 8:20, I guess? Why do you ask?"

"Excuse me, what time did you get to school last Friday?"

"Huh? I don't remember. Probably around 8:25."

"Excuse me, what time did you get to school last Friday?"

"Is that any of your business?"

"What time did you get here last Friday?"

"Friday was World History day, right? I was cutting it pretty close, and made it in just as class started. The look Ms. Sakaki gave me was scary!"

Nothing. There's nothing here. After asking a dozen students, the earliest anyone arrived by was 8:20. I _have_ to assume that the culprit arrived right around 8:00. I have to.

Still, all hope is not lost. Everyone that I asked was loitering outside of the school. They are probably all members of athletic clubs. Naturally, they are only early because they have club activities.

With that in mind, there are two places people would go to if early to class. If it were me, I would go to my classroom, but I think there are also a handful of people who would go to the library.

Deciding the library would be easier than checking every individual classroom, I head there first.

Entering the room, it gives off the same musty smell every library seems to have. The gloomy atmosphere that outside had is magnified in this cramped space. I guess that sort of aesthetic fits a library though.

There are two people inside. The first is a student sitting behind the counter—presumably on library duty—while the other is leisurely working on something. Presumably, it is homework that he forgot to do the night before.

Starting with the guy at the counter, I approach him. He seems very… melancholic. Not quite the right word, but it is fits. His dark hair is almost as long as mine, going down to his shoulders. His bangs are partially covering his right eye as he taps on his phone.

Most of my peers are pretty standoffish, but this guy seems to be more depressed than anything else. Or atleast, that is the impression I get.

Just before calling out to him and introducing myself, a voice from behind me calls out.

"Excuse me," says the other student in the room. "You're Misaki, right? I was actually hoping to talk to you today."

Oh? My my, the predator becomes the prey. We will see who has sharper teeth.

"Please, go ahead."

He gestures for me to follow him. Behind me, I hear the library door open as a teacher enters the room. I do not know their name, but I have seen them around the teacher's office a few times. He approaches the counter as I follow my prey.

He stops at a wooden table in the back of the library and sits down. For the first time, I actually look at him, and not past him. His light hair is kind of messy, but still looks better than the librarian's. He lacks any physical Quirk distinction, or atleast one that is visible. And of course, naturally, he is wearing our school's uniform.

"Now then," I say. "You have business with me?"

His eyes dart around the room as he starts talking.

"Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but there was something I wanted to know." He replied.

Now would normally be the time I say something along the lines of "Get on with it," but I feel like that would just extend this conversation for longer than it needs to be.

"Well, it's just…" He mutters. "I'm interested in what time you got to school last Friday."

Oooooohhhh baby! We got a kid playing detective! Well, you can be one of the Hardy Boys. I'll be Rouletabille, 'kay?

Wait, wouldn't it make more sense to name myself after a female detective? Marple is the only one coming to mind. There are some decent one-off femme fatales, but that old lady is the only prominent female detective. I hope they do not make us decide on nicknames soon.

"Sorry, but could I get your name first?" I ask. "I would introduce myself, but you seem to already know me."

It bugged me that he called me by name earlier. I guess an intellectual such as myself is well-known around school though.

"Oh, sorry," he replies. "My name is Akemi Takeru. Nice to meet you."

"Alright then. I don't know why you're interested, but I got to class about five minutes before it started. So 8:25, give or take."

I need to find out why he wants to know this. First off, he specifically wanted to know when _I _got to school. I am simply asking everybody while trying to find someone who got here early. Meanwhile, he was interested in when Misaki Yuki got here. Quite frankly, it makes no sense.

There is a possibility, though, that he was out in the front of the school when I was asking around. He heard me asking the question, or maybe even heard from a friend, and was curious as to why. It makes a bit more sense, I guess.

"8:25, huh?" He scratches his chin. "Sorry for the weird question, but I'm looking into… something. Apparently, someone cheated on the World History exam, and I'm just looking into it, is all."

"I'm familiar with the incident," I reply. "Wait, would that mean you suspect I was the one who stole a copy of the test?"

I guess that would mean I cheated in order to get a worse score. That would be embarrassing.

"Oh no, not at all!" He exclaimed. "It's just that, well, I'll explain it to you later if it ends up working out. Wait, you have heard about it?"

"Naturally." I reply, but then add, "A friend told me about it."

"Oh, I see. It's the same for me. A friend told me, that is."

He seems pretty jittery. Maybe my feminine wiles have gotten to him? Come on, Akemi! You can't be a detective if any floozy off the street can get to you!

Wait, wouldn't that make me the floozy?

"Well, I don't know what you think, but… I'm suspicious of Katagiri." He whispered.

I have a comrade in arms! I'm ever so sorry for doubting you, Akemi!

"Is it just because he did well on the test? Or do you have something more conclusive?"

"Well, there's a little more than that. It's not much, but he definitely arrived to school early that day… probably."

"Did you see him here early?"

"Well, no," he replies. "I actually got to school late on Friday. Luckily they still let me take the test."

"I see. Then how do you know he was here that day?" I ask.

"Well, normally library duty would be suspended along with club activities, right?" He said. "Well, I happened to stop by on Monday and Thursday, and he was here both times. I imagine he was probably here on Friday as well."

How interesting…

"Wait, Katagiri is on library duty?" I ask. "That wouldn't happen to…"

I point towards the dim counter behind me, where the morose guy once sat, but no one is there. It is pretty bad form to just leave the library unattended, isn't it?

"Looks like he's gone now, but yeah, that was him."

Very interesting indeed.

* * *

**The difficulty level is unfair.**

**While reasoning is possible, a leap in logic or an assumption is required in order to proceed.**

**Thank you for reading Chapter I-II! This marks the end of the exposition and the start of the investigation. There is one important detail that I was, quite frankly, unable to foreshadow properly. Therefore, I will throw out a freebie towards everyone earnestly thinking about the mystery.**

**The Quirk of the culprit is integral to the story. The Quirk in questioned has enough foreshadowing that you have gotten a glimpse of it by this point, but not enough to see its full potential.**

**When thinking of the idea for this arc, it was obvious that I had to showcase how Quirks could be used in a whodunit. It's important that this is a story that could happen in the world of My Hero Academia after all. I probably could have done a much better job, but I guess you can critique that once I finish this arc.**

**Most detective stories make the narrator (the Watson) a character who is NOT the detective. This works because if you see the detective's thought process, you will either realize they are an idiot or get to see the author's thought process on mysteries, and see if they overlooked anything. Lucky for you readers, you get both.**

**Sakurano didn't get a formal introduction, but she'll pop back up eventually. Sorry to all of you tomboy/ojou-sama lovers out there.**

**With that out of the way, thank you again for reading. Any feedback would be appreciated. I would also love to see your theories regarding the mystery at hand. Katagiri is the obvious culprit here, but I guess that makes him look like a red herring, doesn't it? I'll leave it to you whether that is the case or not. For another freebie, I will say that the culprit is one of the characters named by this point.**


	4. Chapter I-III: A Study in Sham

My conversation with Akemi gave me no further answers. He excused himself shortly before class started, leaving me with plenty of questions.

I am suspicious of him, but he can wait. I think the possibility exists that he is connected to this case just curiousity.

Still, learning more about Katagiri is a great bonus. It would have been nice if I could have talked to him, but just knowing his face is a boon in itself.

Now then, I have been putting something off for far too long. Namely, I need to visit the crime scene. Normally, the first thing the detective does is examine the crime scene and, more importantly, the corpse. Unfortunately, there is no corpse here, and I doubt there will be much to gain from inspecting Mr. Mashiro's desk. Still, I may gain _something_ from looking it over. For example, what if there is some lingering evidence of someone's Quirk? The possibility of burns, scratches, or something in the same vein makes it worth looking into.

The sound of the bell echoes throughout the school, signaling both the start of our lunch break and my investigation. Hopefully Mr. Mashiro is still in the teacher's office. It is not like I cannot wait until after school, but the sooner I do take care of this, the better.

"What's the rush, Misaki?" An annoying voice calls out behind me.

"Is that- Actually, you could be useful." I reply, "Come with me for a minute, Mizuno."

"I'm fine where I am, thanks. " He lets out a laugh before adding, "Unless you want to buy me lunch again."

"Sure, whatever. Hurry up."

He hurries behind me as I walk out of the classroom. The hallway is bustling with students heading to and from the cafeteria. Sticking to the left wall, I manage to push my way through to the nearest staircase.

"So, where are we heading?" He asks.

"We're going to go have a nice chat with Mr. Mashiro."

"I see," he replies. "I'm guessing you want me to take a look at his desk?"

"Precisely. Your job, Mizuno, is to take a look at the desk's drawer and tell me if there's anything odd about it. Even if it seems like useless information, I want to hear it. If there's so much as a speck of dust on it, I want to hear it, got it?"

"Roger that."

Mizuno's Quirk, Structural Analysis, is pretty useful for detective work. It lets him, well, analyze structures. While I do not know the specifics, it more or less lets him see the weak points in anything he looks at.

I doubt Mr. Mashiro would take kindly to me looking through and examining his desk drawer. I had thought of a countermeasure, but Mizuno gives me an easy way out. Even if he doesn't know what to look for, he can still do an examination more thorough than I could.

He makes for a decent Watson, I suppose. It is a common trope for the Watson to notice something completely unremarkable that ends up being the key to solve the case. While I doubt this will end up being the case, it is worth a try.

Entering the teacher's office, we are met with a blast of energy. I was hoping now would be a convenient time to visit, but the room is abuzz with students and teachers alike. Around half of the office desk's in here are empty, with the rest having teachers enjoying their much coveted break. There are about five other students in here, presumably consulting a teacher about one thing or another.

Fortunately, Mr. Mashiro seems unoccupied. Well, excluding his lunch. The balding teacher is currently eating with one hand and using his computer with the other. From the looks of it, he is looking through a student's data. It seems like they are failing most of their classes.

I can see a clear dent in an open drawer on his desk. It is safe to assume that is the one in question. The surface of the desk is rather organized compared to adjacent desks. Only a few loose papers are scattered about, along with a computer. Behind the computer, I also spot some framed photos of what appears to be past classes.

"I'll handle the talking, Mizuno," I say. "Just stay back and look at the desk."

"Sounds good to me." With his lackadaisical cooperation, I move in to my make move.

"Excuse me, Mr. Mashiro?" I call out. "I was hoping to ask you something."

"Oh! Um.. It's Misaki, right?" He jumps when he hears my voice, and nearly drops his food. "…Good work on the exams. What can I do for you?"

Some detectives may beat around the bush and try to get their target to bring up a conversation topic naturally. I am not some detectives.

"I heard that there was a missing copy of the World History test. " I add, "I was wondering if there is a possibility it was just a human error?"

His smile drops as he sighs.

"Word got out about that, did it?" Mr Mashiro asks rhetorically. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter now. Don't worry about that incident, Misaki. We already caught the one who did it."

What…?

Someone already beat me to it? They went and caught the guy before I could even get to the crime scene? That single sentence carries the same weight that a punch to the stomach does. Despite feeling bitter more than anything else, I can feel my eyes start to burn as they tear up.

Luckily, Mr. Mashiro turned his gaze towards the computer monitor, and I quickly wipe them dry.

"Well, don't tell anyone this, but I'm not completely sold that the kid they think did it actually did it, you know?"

Of course! It's the classic scapegoat! It is fairly common for someone—usually an acquaintance of the detective—to be arrested as a call to adventure for the detective.

The emptiness I previously felt is immediately washed away with my newfound hope. I have spent the last two months doing nothing. I need this. If there is nothing to detect, there is no need for a detective.

"Is it Katagiri, then?"

"Yep. Or atleast, that's who the Disciplinary Officer has decided it is." He says with a frown, "It's not like they caught him red-handed or anything. They saw someone cheated and saw someone go from almost failing to passing all of the exams with flying colors. Doesn't take a genius to make that assumption, you know?"

"Personally," he goes on," I don't think he did it. He got told he might have to repeat the year if his grades stayed the way they were a couple months ago. Since then, I have seen him paying more attention in class and earnestly studying. I'm not saying he _couldn't_ have done it, but I guess I'd just like to believe none of my students would try to cheat."

Is this what they call gap moe? In class, Mr. Mashiro comes off as stern and tough, but in the end, he holds a fair degree of affection for his students.

"So is it not possible that one of the tests was just lost?" I ask.

"If only," he sighs. "The test was national, so we weren't the ones who handled it. Starting a couple years ago, they moved from sending us a digital copy to sending them physically. Apparently copies were being leaked and spread around the country, so they started sending the exact number necessary. Naturally, we had to count the copies we got and make sure nothing was awry."

That's… bizarrely meticulous. I suppose if just one copy leaked, they would have to change the exam in every school across the country. That makes this a much bigger deal that it seemed, doesn't it?

"I see…" I prepare to say goodbye, but something comes to mind. "About Katagiri… Couldn't you check the security footage to see when he got here? Maybe that would absolve him from cheating."

"That old thing?" He laughs. "It hasn't worked for years now. It's mainly just for show. It's not like any villains would come to Yudaitaka, you know?"

I guess I am some detectives after all.

"Thank you very much." I added, "Sorry for interrupting your lunch."

"Don't worry about it. But don't tell anyone about this, alright?" Mr. Mashiro warned.

All I heard was "Please fix this injustice and save the innocent Katagiri! You are the only one who can do this, Misaki Yuki!"

"Don't worry, I won't."

With that, I take Mizuno with me and leave the teacher's office.

"Alright, sweet," Mizuno exclaims. "Let me just go grab a bite to eat and I'll tell you all about it."

"I'll be going with you. I forgot to bring my lunch today."

"Alright. Let's hurry up though. That took way longer than I thought it would."

Looking at a nearby clock, it looks like we already lost over ten minutes of our lunch break. Luckily, that is still plenty of time to buy something, eat it, and discuss our findings.

* * *

"I got melon, red bean, and curry bread. Which do you want?"

"Curry please." I say. He hands me the superior flavor while being left with his inferior sugar-coated bread.

"Well then, I would like to say I found a decisive piece of evidence that will turn the tides and crack this case wide open, but unfortunately, I found nothing of the sort."

"I'll be the judge of that," I say. "Just tell me what you noticed."

In my haste, I forgot to get an up close look of it. Anything will help at this point.

"Well, it was broken into, I guess?" He says slowly. "Instead of picking the lock, they, rather obviously, just hit it a bunch of times with something and forced it open."

"So they probably created a lot of noise, right?" I ask.

"Probably?" He mutters. "Unless they had a Quirk that let them silence the noise or something, I don't see how they would do it quietly."

"I don't know if this helps or not," he says, "but the lock to the desk was seriously easy to break into. Anyone with even the smallest knowledge of lock picking could have gotten in within seconds."

"Your Quirk lets you see that?" I ask out of curiosity.

"Pretty much. I can see the weak and strong points of anything I want. It gives me a bit of a headache when I use it, though."

"Duly noted." I add, "Anyways that means our culprit never wanted to do things the quiet way, right?"

"Makes sense to me." He says noncommittally.

"I will need to think this over a little, but thanks for the help, Mizuno."

"No problem," he replies. "Besides, you paid me for this, remember?"

"Just because I paid you doesn't mean I can't be thankful."

We go quiet as we start eating our bread. The conversations of countless other students sitting around us blend together into a cacophony. Looking outside, it has already started to rain. It is not quite a downpour, but I would prefer not to walk home in this weather.

"Misaki," Mizuno says, "do you think you will be able to find whoever did this?"

"Of course."

"When you say it like that, I don't really doubt you," he laughs. "But, there are over 200 students in our grade alone. It wouldn't be unreasonable for it to be called impossible."

"Well, in a conventional manner, I guess it would be pretty difficult. Not impossible, but probably out of my league."

"Then, you're solving it unconventionally?" He asks.

"Not quite," I reply. "I'm just thinking about it unconventionally."

"What's the difference? They both seem like the same thing to me."

"Well," I explain, "what would you call the perfect murder?"

"Perfect murder? I guess it would be perfect if no evidence was left behind?"

"Exactly," I reply. "The perfect murder, or otherwise perfect crime, is one where there is no evidence. Closed rooms are fun to read about, but they aren't realistic. A closed room leaves behind much more evidence then, say, dumping a body out in the mountains."

"Are you saying that the person who stole the test _wants_ to be caught, then?" He looks at me doubtfully.

"Not at all. But I just think of the situation as if it were a detective novel."

He looks at me like I just told him the world is flat.

"Okay, let me explain," I add. "Like you just said, it's pretty much impossible to find the culprit among 200 people, right?"

"More or less, yeah."

"Now then, if this were a detective novel, the list of suspects would be much less than 200. It would be limited solely to the named characters."

"So you just ignore the possibility of it being someone you don't know?"

"I wouldn't say that. If, for example, it turned out to have been some third year who stole the test just for the kick of it, I would have no problem with that. I could just dismiss this as a completely ordinary situation that has no need for a detective."

"In other words, you just act under the hope that it ends up going your way?"

"That sums it up nicely," I say. "Personally, it is not too much different than reading detective fiction. At the end of the day, you have to trust the fact that the author won't just introduce some secret mastermind at the last chapter to resolve everything."

"I feel like those are two completely different situations, but I don't feel like arguing the point."

"If you say so."

The rest of our break passed by soon after that. Before long, the cafeteria was nearly empty. The sound of the rain combined with the otherwise silent room made it felt rather desolate.

"Well then, Misaki," Mizuno says, "What are you going to do now? Go look for more evidence?"

"That won't be necessary. There is still one person I need to talk to, but other than that, I know whodunit… I just need to be able to prove it."

Standing up, I ask Mizuno for one last favor.

"Anyway, can you get Sakurano to come to our classroom after she's done with her club? It's about time I interrogated her."

* * *

**And that's Chapter I-III.**

**Personally, I feel like this chapter is weaker than the past ones. I don't have a concrete reason for it, but it feels worse than the previous three. I would appreciate it if anyone could point out any particular weakness this chapter had that the others didn't. Or any weakness the others did have, too. Really, construction criticism is more than welcome.**

**Anyways, the case is reaching its apex. Despite the detective's declaration happening, there are still two more chapters to go for this case. I was planning on there to be four, but everything ended up taking longer than expected.**

**As I said last time, there is still the matter of the culprit's Quirk which has gone without much foreshadowing. That will (hopefully) be touched up on more next chapter, but it is still the biggest shortcoming I have made so far.**

**Thanks for reading, and please leave a review if you have any feedback, good or bad! This chapter is dedicated to gap moe.**


	5. Chapter I-IV: A Study in Sham

Damn it. This is what I get for trying to look cool.

After giving such an awesome declaration, I ran out of the cafeteria as Mizuno shouted something behind me.

Lunch break will be over in the next couple minutes, and I will not have any time until the end of school to tie up loose ends.

Before confronting Sakurano, I need to talk to Akemi again. Specifically, I need him to meet Sakurano. Under those circumstances, I can hopefully unravel the entire truth.

After lunch, our homeroom teacher announced that the test results had been changed, and a student had been suspended indefinitely for cheating. After seeing the updated list, Katagiri Keiichi quickly became known as a cheater.

But that's wrong. The true culprit is still out there. The question is: do they feel remorse? Did they intend for someone besides themselves to be punished?

To be entirely honest, I am having a difficult convincing myself I am acting for Katagiri's sake. It would be _nice_ if I was apprehending the mastermind lurking the shadows to save a dear friend, but I do not even know the guy. If I had talked to him atleast once, maybe that would be different, but for the time being, he is just some name that keeps popping up.

Basically, I am just trying to resolve everything before the culprit turns themselves in. Call me apathetic or selfish or whatever, but I don't really care if Katagiri gets punished or not. Unlike these wannabe heroes I have for classmates, I do not feel deeply for those I have not met. I prioritize my own goals above anyone else's.

That made me sound like a villain, didn't it?

The rest of our classes finish in the blink of an eye. I spent most of the time thinking about what to say and what to do. Assuming nothing deviates from plan, everything should be fine.

Now then, it is time to wrap up this case.

"Oh, Akemi!" I shout. "What a coincidence meeting you here! Did you hear Katagiri got suspended?"

It took a few minutes of waiting, but I eventually spot Akemi on the ground floor. His expression is dark, and he looks as though he could break at any moment.

I wonder if this is how I looked earlier?

"Yes, I heard," he whimpered. "Actually, I saw him earlier, in the teacher's office. He… He looked like he was on the verge of tears. He definitely didn't do it."

"I came to the same conclusion," I say. "Actually, I have figured out who did it."

"What?!" The darkness covering his expression remains. "But, how? I thought for sure it was impossible…"

"Nothing can escape my grasp," I reply. "Would you like to join me? As a fellow student playing detective, it feels only right to invite you along. After all, you did share some vital information with me this morning."

"I…" He stammers, but I quickly interrupt.

"I'm sure whatever you were doing can wait another hour, right?"

His gaze wavers before mine, and he eventually concedes.

"Alright. Where are we off to?"

"We'll be meeting in my classroom." I add, "Should we go ahead and head there?"

"We might as well."

I lead him upstairs to classroom 1-C. You would think it would be on the ground floor, but the naming system in this building is all kinds of screwed up.

The sound of rain seems to get heavier as I open the door. Inside, Sakurano is already sitting down in what is normally my seat. Mizuno is also here, sitting on top of his desk.

"You're early," I comment. "I hope you didn't ditch practice because of me."

Sakurano gives a sly smile at me.

"Have you seen the weather?" She asks. "It's not exactly prime for running."

Whenever I think of sports, I think of teams practicing in all sorts of rough weather. Personally speaking, a track team needs the guts to run in a blizzard, not even to mention some heavy rain.

It is not like I would be willing to run in that weather though, so I acquiesce.

"Alright then," I reply. "I hope you don't my friend, Akemi, here joining us, do you?"

Her smile breaks for a moment, but returns right after. It feels as though her smile this time is a bit more genuine.

"I don't see a problem with it." Sakurano says, "Nice to meet you, Akechi. My name is Sakurano Akane. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance."

"I-I'm Akemi Takeru," he stutters. "Nice to meet you."

"Please go ahead and take a seat, Akemi. I'm going to go ahead and start now."

As I remain standing in the front of the class, Akemi goes to take a seat next to Sakurano.

"Hold on a second," Mizuno says in a rather irritated tone. "Who are you, exactly? Misaki, you can't just let this fly right? This would normally be the time when you shout something like 'What's with this last minute addition to the cast!' or something along those lines. You can't just bring in some pivotal witness without some explanation."

"Mizuno," I sigh, "you are the only one here who doesn't know Akechi. If you stuck to your role, you would have met him this morning."

"That still doesn't explain who he is and why he's here."

"I'm trying to get to that. Now, be quiet and let me talk."

This guy needs to learn how to be a better Watson. I have no qualms about replacing Mizuno, so he better improve or he is fired.

The gray sky outside fills the room with a depressing mood. The sound of rain falling down on the campus below. This only feeds into the silence temporarily covering the room. In the next few minutes, this atmosphere will be replaced with the satisfaction of a mystery being solved.

But… I need to get there first. I lack conclusive proof, but I fortunately will not have to rely on tricking the culprit into revealing themselves. I would be no better than a practical joker in that case.

Sakurano sits behind my desk with an expectant smile.

Mizuno sits on the desk behind her with a scowl.

Akemi sits beside him and avoids my gaze.

Katagiri is elsewhere, and as much as I would love to have him here, his testimony is not essential for unveiling the truth.

"Now then," I say. "All of the necessary pieces are gathered here. Shall we get started?"

* * *

**With that, we have reached the apex of the first arc. All will be revealed and concluded in the next chapter.**

**There was a fairly pivotal scene I had planned for this arc, but I honestly have no idea how to naturally include it. I guess it is just my shortcoming as an author that I was not able to foreshadow everything as much as I would have liked. This is, after all, practice for my writing, but that does not mean I should accept poor results sitting down.**

**Anyway, feel free to post any theories you may or may not have here. After all, you cannot go back to not knowing something after knowing it, even if it is a third-rate mystery.**

**With that aside, I am still thinking about the next arc. There are three possibilities for it I have in my head. First, another arc similar to this one, that introduces a minor mystery and supporting characters. Second, an arc that introduces a recurring villain. I wasn't originally planning on having a Moriarty-type villain, but I thought of a pretty neat concept for one. Third would be the Stain arc, but with its own twist. I have no idea whether canon arcs are something readers would like to see, or if you would prefer me to completely avoid them in favor of original stories. So, if you have any opinion on which of those three you would like to see, feel free to voice it.**

**With that out of the way, thank you for reading. The next chapter will hopefully be up soon, but expect a short hiatus between arcs as I brainstorm. If you have any criticism, I would highly appreciate it.**


	6. Chapter I-V: A Study in Sham

"Let's get right down to business, shall we?" I ask.

The goal here is not to receive a confession, but to receive a confession after presenting as much evidence as possible. I want, no, I need to indisputably be the one who solved this case. I can only proudly trumpet my triumph if I get to provide my hypothesis before the truth is revealed. Not giving anyone the opportunity to speak up, I keep talking.

"Let us start at the beginning. Mizuno was the one who first told me about this case while citing his friend, Sakurano. You revealed to me that your Quirk gave you this information, correct, Sakurano?"

"Did I?" She asks. "Sorry, I do not quite remember."

"Please don't worry, I remember for you. You mentioned it during our conversation yesterday," I immediately reply. "In that case, what is Quirk, Sakurano?"

Sweat trickles down my neck as I ask this question. It is a risky and completely unnecessary move, but it makes me feel as empowered as hell.

"I would prefer not to answer," she replies. _YES!_ "My Quirk works best when as few people as possible are privy to it. I hope you understand."

"That is quite troublesome for me, actually. After all, you are also hiding other information alongside your Quirk."

Her smile transforms into a malicious smirk. She looks up at me with expectations. I know not whether she expects me to fail or succeed. Presumably the latter.

"Alright then, I'll just have to go through what I know." I continue, "Summing up what you told Mizuno, last week during the morning of the test, someone sneaked into the teacher's office, broke into Mr. Mashiro's filing cabinet, and took a copy of the World History test. However, no students arrived between the times Mr. Mashiro arrived and when others teachers did so."

"For the second time, yes. That is more or less the whole story," she replies.

I hate how she phrases the question. 'More or less' is a vague term that just lets her adjust her testimony in case she gets caught off-guard. Her cooperation makes this easier than it could be, so at least I have that to be thankful for.

"Where did you learn about this information?" I ask.

"That makes it the third time you have asked now." She sighs. "I'm not willing to divulge the details of my Quirk."

"Sorry, I meant that to sound more rhetorical. The answer is, you witnessed everything."

Her grin just grows more and more. It is the maniacal sort of smile a monster would make while hiding under your bed. Honestly, this girl is quite scary. Not scary enough to make an ace detective cower in fear, or even hesitate, but scary nonetheless. I wonder how Mizuno knows her.

"This is just hypothetical, of course," I continue, "but I have tentatively named your Quirk, 'Observer.' The details still escape me, but the general idea is that you can observe an area outside of immediate vicinity."

"I see. You really are dedicated to your role, Misaki Yuki." The smile does not waver as I corner her.

"I will take that as a confession, then." I look towards Mizuno and Akemi. "I assume this information will not leave this room?"

"Naturally."

"That's fine with me…"

Good. I do not care in the slightest whether or not Sakurano keeps her Quirk a secret or not. However, it would be nice to solve this case as cleanly as possible. While it is hardly anything substantial, I have an inkling that Sakurano has been using her Quirk for less than savory means. Presumably doing the same thing our culprit here did, just without leaving a trace. Naturally, I only think this because she kept it a secret. Some people are naturally private about such things, and a fair amount of students _do_ keep this Quirks close to their chest, but withholding such information naturally makes other suspicious.

But that is none of my business. My business here is with another.

"For reference, I was easily able to deduce this once Mr. Mashiro informed me the camera system here is nonfunctional. Please, for future reference, try to lie better, alright?"

"Is it now? Thank you for the information," she replies. "Since it does not matter anymore, my Quirk's name is Monitor. Just in case you needed to know."

With a name like that, it is safe to assume its role is just as guessed. The possibility does exist that there is more to it, and she just made that up, but all I care about it its role in this mystery. Outside information is irrelevant.

"With that out of the way, you would naturally know the face of the culprit, correct?" I ask.

"Naturally. I was had the entirety of the school monitored at the time." Sakurano says.

"Very well," I reply, "let us continue. I personally dislike it when the final chapter drags on and on without the criminal being explicitly named, but we can wait a little bit longer, can we not?"

Without giving anyone the chance to speak, I continue.

"With that out of the way, we now know the information I obtained from Mizuno is completely trustworthy." I comment, "However, that does not mean we were not misled."

"Cut the crap and spit it out already." An agitated voice yells out from behind Sakurano.

"I'm getting there!" I shout back. "Anyway, the way Mizuno, or rather Sakurano, told the story naturally made it seem like a closed room. Naturally, a perfect closed room mystery is a scenario which cannot exist. Taking this into account, I believe we were misled into believing the crime happening long after it actually occurred."

"What an accusation," Sakurano giggles. "I told the story as it happened, but perhaps a detail or two slipped my mind."

"Could you just point at this guy already and call him the culprit?" Mizuno asks, ruining everything. "If it's not Sakurano, then it obviously has to be him. I know I didn't do it, and the detective can't commit the crime, right? Even I know that much."

Mizuno, and now the whole room, is now directing their attention towards Akemi. I was _almost_ there, Mizuno! It would have been so cool! I will remember this…

The person in question sits with their head down. Without any words of resistance, they accept their guilt.

How boring.

Well, I can still tie a pretty bow onto the present that is this case. Even if a merciless brat (who is the same age as me) stomped on it a few times, it is still a wonderful gift.

"_You _are the culprit, Akemi!" I say while pointing. The wonder and excitement is all gone, but it still feels necessary. "Sometime before Friday, presumably on Sunday, you sneaked into the teacher's office, broke the drawer, stole the test, and ran out. Simple as that."

Quite frankly, I have no idea how he actually got _into_ the teacher's office. No evidence, such as a key, come up during my investigation. There are countless different methods though, so I will just forget about it unless someone brings it up.

"In that case," Mizuno asks, "why did no one notice that the drawer wasn't broken until the day of the test?"

I let out a laugh and reply, "I'm glad you asked, Mizuno! That would be due to Akemi's Quirk! To be completely honest, there are a lot possibilities as to what it is, but I think I have a good idea. Some sort of illusion Quirk would do the trick. He could make everyone think the desk was still in good condition even if it was all busted up. Of course, that is just a theory. Feel free to correct me on it."

Naturally, this 'theory' was meticulously thought over. I am nearly 100% sure that it is the correct answer.

"That's… wrong." He replies.

Well, really, there was not even evidence to figure it all out. Really, I only have this shitty third-rate mystery to blame. A well-constructed mystery would have let a myriad of clues regarding Akemi's Quirk, unlike this disaster of a detective story. One could hardly blame me for not getting the details perfect.

Keeping up my facade of a smile, I ask, "What is it, then?"

"It's a bit hard to explain, so… um…" He stammers on, but my ever lovely assistant yells at him to get on with it.

"My Quirk is called Time Manipulation," Akemi says. "I can change the order things happen in, I guess..? That's what I did to the desk; I broke into the desk, and after… taking one of the tests, I moved the time that I broke the desk."

Makes sense to me. It is not _quite_ an illusion Quirk, but close enough, right? Nobody would judge me for not getting it correct, right? …Right?

"Interesting," Sakurano comments. "If you do not mind me asking, why is someone with such a strong Quirk here at Yudaitaka? You probably could have made it into Shiketsu or U.A."

She picks up my slack and presses Akemi for his motive. I have two main theories regarding why he did it. The more obvious answer is that he stole it to improve his grades. While I believe this one to be the correct answer, it is a bit lackluster.

The second option is that he leaked the test somewhere else. After Mr. Mashiro mentioned the test was done on a national level, this idea popped into my head. While I admittedly have yet to research it online, I never did hear anything that could support this theory. Thus, my tentative theory is that Akemi is an idiot.

An overbearing gloom radiates from his face at Sakurano's inquiry. His usual cheerful demeanor he held when we first met is nowhere to be seen. With his back slumped and hands in his lap, he looks like a criminal as he responds.

"You guys are in the Heroics Department, right? I know it's unusual, but I'm not," he says. "I applied for lots of schools, but Yudaitaka is the best I could get into."

Our school is not exactly known for its high entry requirements. The entrance exam was far easier than I had hoped it to be, but I guess I should not have expected any better. In any case, this just supports my motive theory.

"When it comes to math, science, or literature, I'm pretty good," Akemi continues. "But I absolutely cannot do Japanese History! World History is bad too, but I can manage it. Meanwhile, Japanese History is the worst! Who cares if the Taika Reforms happened in 625, you know!?"

It was 645, wasn't it?

"So, after deciding you would not be able to pass it, you decided to cheat?" Sakurano questions.

"Well… yeah." He responds. "I studied and studied, but it all went in one ear and out the other. So I stole the test, looked up all the answers, and in the end… I still failed."

Hold on a second. You went through all that effort, and you still managed to screw up? This guy really is a bona fide idiot.

For the first time since the accusations began, Akemi raised his head. His gaze reflected a firm and nonvolatile will.

"I never intended for anyone to get in trouble for this. I didn't want to get caught, obviously, but I didn't think Katagiri would actually get suspended without any evidence. That's why I plan to turn myself in."

I respect those words. After someone else took the heat for his actions, he prepared himself to undo his wrongdoings. A respectable culprit is much more interesting than an indisputably evil villain.

"Then hurry up," I respond. "Katagiri is probably getting into all sorts of trouble at home right now. Go on and take responsibility."

Our eyes meet and he nods.

The room is filled with the air of fulfillment. Everyone here has had every question answered, and will now solemnly let Akemi fulfill his duty. The tale of Misaki Yuki bringing Akemi Takeru to the self-realization of justice will be remembered in the halls of Yudaitaka for years to come.

The rain outside become quieter and quieter as the minutes pass. By the time Akemi faces his truth, a sunny sky should be peaking out over the horizon.

"Misaki," Akemi stands up and addresses me, "could you do me a favor? Tomorrow morning, could you talk to Katagiri at the library?"

"I guess I could. Is there something you need me to tell him?" Taking the culprit's last rites is within the role of the detective. Besides, I would love to gloat to that guy about cracking this case.

"Just meeting him will be enough… probably." Akemi adds, "You see, I used my Quirk on myself back then. You mentioned something about the test, so I panicked and called out to you… I can't use my Quirk again until what I moved actually _happens_, so I can't use it until then. Usually, there is a time limit involved, but with people…"

"Consider it done." I cut him off before he can trail on. I get it, you have a cool Quirk. Don't gloat.

Akemi nods and walks past me to the room's entrance. Like two knights on a battlefield, we fully understand each other. Truly, this air of chivalrous romance could be ruined by nothing.

"Hold on a second!" Mizuno shouts ruining the air of chivalrous romance. "Aren't you being a bit too hasty, Akechi? You don't _have _to turn yourself in, you know? As long as this Kadazini guy doesn't get in any trouble, it's fine, right?"

That's not even a real name!

"That… would be nice," Akemi remarks with his back to us. "I don't see how that could be done."

"We just have to prove it wasn't Katagiri, right?" Sakurano asks. "In that case, why not explain to a teacher some reasons why Katagiri _couldn't_ have done it?"

"Good idea," Mizuno comments. "If that doesn't work, we could always just leave the test with some flashy message while Katagiri isn't at school."

"Is… Is that fine though?" Akemi asks. "I don't want to be punished, but…"

"Of course it is, man!" Mizuno exclaims. "It's not like you gained anything from doing it, so it's not an issue, right?"

"I do not think you necessarily need to face official punishment," Sakurano says. "As long as you apologize to Katagiri, and he accepts, it should be fine."

"Is… is that right?"

Those words were surely directed towards the one who remained silent. Towards the one who stopped him in the first place. With his back turned, I cannot see his face, but his expression is surely a sad one. Is it such a bad thing to have no one be culpable? Plenty of detective stories do not bring the culprit to the hands of justice. Some end up letting the culprit escape, some allow the culprit time to commit suicide, and some simply never involve the police to begin with. In that case, is it wrong?

As a detective, I have a duty to bring the criminal to the gallows. But, in this case, I can make an exception.

Well, I would love to, but unfortunately…

"It's not possible," I declare. "Someone has to take the blame."

"Misaki!" Mizuno yells. "Can't you just let this go, just this once?"

He looks at me with cold eyes. As if I single-handedly crushed a tiny little miracle. Said miracle is just preventing a week or two of suspension, but even the smallest of hopes can be considered a miracle.

"Mizuno, do you really think the school board will allow there not to be a culprit at this point?"

Such is the cruel reality we are faced with.

"Katagiri was already publicly accused earlier today," I continue. "To begin with, I doubt most, if any of the teachers actually believe Katagiri to be the one responsible. He is nothing more than a convenient scapegoat to quickly sweep a national-level accident under the rug. At this point in time, they cannot allow there _not_ to be a culprit."

If we had had this conversation a few hours earlier, everything would have been fine. However, the issue here is that Yudaitaka is responsible for that test being stolen. By quickly reprimanding Katagiri, they were able to deal with it before it became more of a problem. If this were to go higher up, they would surely look at the Quirk Database in order to determine whodunit. Akemi would be one of the prime suspects in that case. Once his name comes up, he is royally screwed.

Which is why there cannot be no culprit. Someone has to take the blame. Whether it be a convenient scapegoat or not is irrelevant.

"I figured. It sounded a bit too good to be true," Akemi says. He then turns around with a forced smile on his face, "Thank you, Misaki. You play the villain a bit too well."

He lets out a laugh as he turns back to the door. Neither Mizuno nor Sakurano has anything left to say. It would be fine to leave it as this. Personally, I have no issue with Akemi taking the blame for what he did. Hell, he is even accepting of it. This could hardly be called a bad end. But, if we were to leave it like this, would anyone but myself be happy? Katagiri might be, I guess. Judging from his clouded expression, there is no way Mizuno would be. Sakurano looks a bit displeased, but I kind of doubt this ordeal will even leave an impression on her.

More importantly, am I happy?

In this world, the most important person is myself. That is the philosophy I have always held. In this Hero-focused society, some may call it selfish, but that is merely hypocritical. It is your own responsibility—and no one else's—to look after yourself. In that case, am I happy right now?

If I had asked myself a few minutes ago, the answer would certainly have been positive. But, right here, at this moment, a feeling of discontent consumes me. The howdunit this time was totally lame, so the last thing I want is a sob story to go with it.

Still… there is an alternative. I am not exactly the type to gain happiness just from helping others, but I _do _have something to gain.

"Good grief, you lot are a real pain," I complain. "Still, I guess there is another way to solve this."

"Weren't you the one that just said it was impossible?" Mizuno asks.

"Without getting my hands a bit dirty it is. But, I don't mind as long as I get paid back." I turn my gaze towards Akemi, who has since turned back around. He might get dizzy at this rate. "Akemi, you can use your Quirk on other people, correct?"

"Yeah…" he responds. "It's just limited, though."

"How limited is a 'bit', exactly?"

"My time limit is about five days forward, or about an hour back. When it comes to living things though, I can only do about thirty seconds both ways," he says. That sounds a bit inconvenient, but it _is_ time travel. "Of course, nothing can actually _change_ when going back. Everything will stay roughly the same, just in a different order."

"That's good enough for me," I reply. "I will get you out of this mess, but as a reward for the hassle I have been through, let me use your Quirk unconditionally once in the future."

He opens his mouth to speak, but delays for a moment. After thinking it over, he gives me a solid, "Alright."

To be completely honest, I have no idea why I would ever need to use his Quirk. But knowing I can always go back in time by thirty seconds is comforting.

"Okay then, you have the test on you, right? I am going to need it for this."

He takes a few papers out of his bag and hands them to me. I quickly inspect them to make sure his name is not on them, and put them in my bag. It would hardly be funny if I went through all this effort just for Akemi to incriminate himself.

"Alright, everyone, I will be going now. I ask that you do not leave this room until I have closed this case. Sakurano, I presume you will be watching me, yes? Please make sure no one does anything until after the matter has settled."

In this case, I can trust Sakurano. Mizuno is not personally involved, but he would probably try to interfere with my plans.

Stepping past Akemi, I slide open the classroom door and walk out into the empty hallway.

"Akemi, I hope I do not need to tell you this, but we have already made an agreement. Please hold up your end of the bargain."

With that, I headed downstairs to present a different answer.

* * *

In the end, it was decided that Misaki Yuki was the one who stole the test. Her motive was simply to present the school with a mystery she herself formulated. As she was the one with the extra copy of the test, she was punished, and Katagiri Keiichi was formally apologized to.

In the end, they never actually asked me how I did it. All they were concerned with was properly dealing with Katagiri and myself. I had a crazy theory prepared as to how I could have done it, but it never got to see the light of day.

I ended up being suspended for a week, and having to write an apology to both Katagiri and the school. I quickly wrote them after getting home that night, and enjoyed the rest of the week to myself.

Personally speaking, I do not believe Mr. Mashiro believed me when I confessed to him, but it hardly matters. As long as someone is there to take the blame, everything is fine.

After documenting my third official case, I decided to note down all of the details nobody ever brought up.

Most obvious is the teacher's room key. I doubt it would be very hard to sneak in with the school's lax security, but it still feels incomplete for a closed room to never even bring up the key.

Sakurano's Quirk was also never fully explained. With the name 'Monitor,' I can safely assume she can monitor a given area. Her motive for doing so was also left unaddressed. Also, quite frankly, I have no idea why she would have lied about the mystery the way she did. Typically, the culprit is the one who makes the mystery, but in this case, it was her. Akemi's actions were rather easy to explain if you knew his Quirk, but she covered up for him for whatever reason. Given Mizuno and I were the only ones who learned about it from her, my number one assumption is that it was something of a test. Perhaps she heard about the fabled detective inhabiting Yudaitaka and wanted to test her skills.

A piece of circumstantial evidence I glossed over, and only realized in retrospect, was Akemi's behavior in the library. When he called out to me, he referred to me by name. I had assumed he knew me as the world-renowned detective, but it is safer to assume he had just heard me introduce myself to Katagiri. Speaking of, Katagiri and I still have yet to meet. It is going to happen sooner or later, so I feel no need to force it. Technically speaking, if we were to never meet, then I cannot die, right? Since my death would mean we would never meet, the space-time continuum would combust or something like that.

I have no idea how time travel works. Sci-fi is out of my realm of expertise

The last piece of information we completely glossed over was the 'murder weapon.' I always imagined it as a crowbar or something, but that probably would have been pretty awkward to carry to school, right? I will have to ask Akemi about it once I see him again.

Despite the simplicity, the truth here was left relatively undisturbed. I am sure both Sakurano and Akemi can answer these unsolved questions, but I would rather put this whole scenario behind me.

To be completely honest, I started to get bored during the big reveal. At best, I give this mystery a grade of 'D.' Sakurano, or whoever wrote this, needs to work on her writing skills. In her defense, I also need to work on my detecting skills. Even with the harsh time limit, I probably could have done a better job.

Hopefully a new mystery springs up soon.

* * *

**And that's the end of the first arc. To be completely honest, it is significantly worse than I thought it would be. I went into this with high expectations, and ended up writing something subpar at best. Still, this is the first time I have ever written something 'complete', so it actually feels pretty nice.**

**Sorry for the delays with it. I actually planned to have this whole arc written in a week or two, but ended up being pretty busy about 50% through this chapter. As someone who hates waiting months for chapter updates, I would like to try to upload the entirety of an arc within a reasonable timeframe.**

**The main thing I learned is that I should really start storyboarding. I had the beginning and ending planned from the beginning, but only fragments of the middle chapters were. If I were quicker with writing, I probably could have gotten away with it, but I ended up waiting two weeks before finishing this chapter. That ending scene with Misaki recounting loose ends was planned, but it ended up feeling like an awkward 'I forgot all the details when writing the scene!' scene. **

**A review mentioned Furudo Erika, who is a rather obvious inspiration for Misaki. The fic I wrote about a year ago was basically a thinly veiled "Erika but in BnHA" story, while this one is, in my eyes, is "detective fiction in BnHA universe." It would be unbecoming of me as the author to explain how I differentiate Misaki and Erika, but I will say I do not intend for Misaki to be nothing but an Erika clone. Hopefully future chapters will do a good job of showing that. For those not familiar with it, go read Umineko, because it is amazing.**

**I don't think it is necessarily wrong for Misaki to be an Erika clone, but I want her to stand as her own character. Other than the occasional reference), don't expect much in that department. She won't suddenly be using duct tape or chopsticks****.**** I would like to see an Umineko crossover, though. I don't plan on writing one, but it could be pretty fun.**

**Anyway, the next arc will be the Stain arc. There will be a bit of a timeskip to tie the story to the canon. I already have a pretty general idea as to what will happen, but there is one particular detail I need to decide on before writing it.**

**Hopefully the next upload is not too far from now. Thanks for reading everyone, and please review if you feel like you have anything to say! (Also, we passed 10k words! Half of which is probably thanks to these drawn out author's notes.)**


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